Lain Singh Bangdel

Life & Legacy

Lain Singh Bangdel / Lain Bangdel (Rai) (Nepali: लैनसिंह बाङ्देल (राई)) (1919– October 15, 2002), was Nepal's foremost artist, novelist, and art historian. In addition to being a leading authority on Nepalese art, Bangdel is best known as the "father of modern art" and was responsible for introducing the modern trends of Western art into Nepal ("Bangdel era") with his pioneering one-man exhibition in Kathmandu in 1962.
As a novelist, he introduced realistic writing in Nepali literature during his period in Calcutta during the 1940s. Born in Darjeeling, India, he studied in Calcutta until 1951, lived in London and Paris until 1961, and finally came to his homeland Nepal in 1961. He also served as Life-Member, Vice-Chancellor, and finally Chancellor of the Royal Nepal Academy (1962–1991).